Thank you, Chair.
We had witnesses come in front of committee who supported that. The reason they support it is because it allows the government to be more nimble in making changes to their advantage, especially when you look at something like the Feeds Act and the Fertilizers Act, etc. I know we're going to see this type of amendment come up again.
Stakeholders in the agricultural sector get a bit frustrated when the government is constrained by its own processes and is unable to respond quickly to their needs. What I clearly heard from many witnesses at committee was that the incorporation by reference is a good initiative. They liked that. Just to put the fears of my colleagues to rest, it's something that's already in place in many other acts. I would, for example, raise the Safe Food for Canadians Act. Incorporation by reference was there and no one voted against it or tried to do amend it. You were quite comfortable with it under the Safe Food for Canadians Act. Here again we have the support of witnesses and of stakeholders saying that incorporation by reference is a good thing.
By pulling it back in front of Parliament, “with the consent of Parliament”, you are basically elevating what is supposed to be a quick and nimble approach to the process and you are imposing upon it, what I'll call, a legislative burden. With the legislation it follows a process. Legislation is key and we do it for legislation. But there are other processes that are meant to be less time-consuming, less resource consuming, and less burdensome to everybody. The incorporation by reference is one of those supported by industry and stakeholders, and it was supported by you in previous legislation and is already in place in other acts.
To say “with the consent of Parliament” not only undoes all of that, it also actually imposes upon it the legislative process that is probably the slowest and most cumbersome process of any of the other processes.
Thank you, Chair.